They Were ExpendableU(1945)

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Summary

Supplies are dwindling. Troops are hopelessly outnumbered. But even in defeat there is victory. The defenders of the Philippines— including PT-boat skippers John Brickley (Robert Montgomery) and Rusty Ryan (John Wayne)—will give the U.S. war effort time to regroup after the devastation of Pearl Harbor.

Director John Ford’s World War II tale knows its battle-scarred topic first-hand. Montgomery was himself a Pacific PT-boat commander and a valorous Bronze Star recipient. Ford filmed the Academy Award®- winning* documentary Battle of Midway. And Wayne creates a portrait of patriotic resolve as only he can. They Were Expendable salutes all who expended themselves during some of the war’s bleakest hours.